WeddingLovely has officially shut its doors, after nearly nine years in business. I kind of feel like I should round that up to nearly a decade because it blows my mind. It’s been a wonderful, thrilling, exciting, terrifying, bittersweet time — I’ve learned so much, and I’ve felt so much joy working with you and all our customers and friends around the world.

I’m keeping the blog up with no updates, to celebrate all the good times and wonderful features we’ve had over the years, and closed the rest of our properties. Thank you all for your support over the years.

Today we’re excited to bring you this interview with Alexandra of Alexandra Michele Events, based in Chicago, IL! Enjoy:

Tell us a bit about yourself and your company.

Alexandra Michele Events is a full-service Event Planner based in the Chicagoland area. As a certified professional wedding consultant, we pride ourselves on our highly customized and unique events. Whether planning your next Wedding, Corporate Event, or Birthday Party, we are here to make sure that each and every event we are involved with is truly unforgettable.

Today we’re delighted to bring you this wedding video from Sydney, Australia-based company Lovereel! Some details:

The beautiful province of Utrecht in Netherlands is where the story begins for Marlous and Russell’s double wedding extravaganza.

Part One – the Ceremony.
Marlous and Russell were married in Buitenplaats Sparrendaal with their trusty bridal squad by their side. And what better way to start a wedding than with an intimate ceremony in a gorgeous estate circa 1754?

Part Two – the Reception.
A week later they moved to the other side of the world for a big party at Taronga Centre overlooking the famous Sydney Harbour. Not without meeting some Taronga Zoo locals first!

Love is in the air! Our bride and groom were planning a destination wedding in the Dominican Republic and wanted to create excitement by sending their guests a unique invitation. We were happy to deliver! The invitation is designed to look like a boarding pass with a luggage tag shaped rsvp card. To complete the theme, they both tuck neatly into a ticket pocket which is packed full of information and extra details needed for an amazing celebration. The coral, tiffany blue, and sand color are sure to have your guests dreaming of cool tropical breezes.

Today we’re delighted to bring you a styled shoot submitted to us by BWedding Invitations! About the shoot:

So, you have found the perfect dress, venue, and of course, the perfect partner. All the detailed planning has led up to this moment – your wedding day. This is your special day to enjoy and cherish!

The morning of the wedding does not have to be stressful. All the planning is done, now it is time to sit back, relax and savor the moment. This gorgeous styled shoot brings inspiration to the bride-to-be on her morning of elegance. This shoot embodies a new era for graceful brides, reflecting how the morning of the wedding can be a relaxing time of pampering and self-care.

Today we’re bringing you an interview with Elena, the CEO and founder of HeraEl Wedding Planner, based in Italy! Enjoy:

How did you get into wedding planning?

I became part of the world of weddings because I am incredibly in love with emotions, every hug, every kiss and every caress excite me, almost to make me move (for 90% of the time;)). In addition to this sensitivity, working before close contact with couples, (but not as a wedding planner) I started to understand and perceive what their real needs were, so I started to specialize myself, with courses, training sessions, manual books to excel in this wonderful role.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your company.

I graduated from CSU Dominguez Hills in 2013 with a degree in Psychology and Marketing. While in school, I started working as a dance teacher, helping a lot of my dance studios put together their huge recitals. After spending a couple of years coordinating dance recitals with up to 350 kids, I decided to expand my horizons and go into wedding and event planning.

Today we’re delighted to bring you this featured invitation design by Affordable Wedding Invites, based in Salem, IL! A bit about the invitation:

Sarah and Kevin wanted something modern but romantic to represent their union in a historic trolley station. The Tadtman’s tied the knot in the spring at Californos in Kansas City, Missouri. The venue features their infamous Trolley Barn, built in 1903, along with a courtyard, grand ballroom, Westport room, saloon, bar & bistro and a stunning library mezzanine overlooking the ballrooms.

See the rest of the photos and more about the invitation after the cut!

With an infinite amount of options to choose from, deciding on a wedding invitation is tricky. Choosing whether to go with an album invitation or a custom invitation can make the decision even more of a challenge!

What do we mean by an album invitation? Persnickety is pleased to offer several lines of invitation designs from different national manufacturers, including Carlson Craft, Designers’ Fine Press, William Arthur, and Crane brands.

The “small wedding” trend continues to grow, and for couples living in and visiting New York, that increasingly means holding their wedding in Central Park. New York City wedding officiant and Central Park Wedding expert, Peter Boruchowitz, says that’s not surprising. “For New Yorkers,” he says, “Central Park is the outdoor space that’s a part of our homes. Also, Central Park can be intertwined with our romantic lives: dates to see concerts at the band shell or on the Great Lawn, or Shakespeare plays that we’ve seen at the Delacorte Theater, picnics at the Sheep Meadow we’ve had with our friends, street performers that we’ve watched on the mall or at Bethesda Terrace, and, of course, long romantic walks by the lake, through the Ramble, in the gardens. So for New Yorkers, holding a wedding here is like getting married in your backyard.”

At 840 acres, that’s a lot of backyard to cover. That’s why Peter is adding new episodes to “The Central Park Wedding Tour”, a series of short Youtube videos that takes you to the most popular Central Park wedding spots. In each video, Peter walks the viewer through a location in the park while describing its attributes as a wedding ceremony venue: the nearest entrance to the park, wheelchair accessibility, the number of people that can be accommodated, whether there are restrooms nearby. Along the way, he throws in interesting tidbits about the location’s history, relates a charming little lesson on wedding ceremonies in Shakespeare’s comedies, and even plays all four parts in a string quartet.

As fun and informative as the videos are to watch, Peter says he made them to be practical. “My Central Park wedding couples were always asking me where to hold their ceremonies, but a place that is perfect for one couple might not fit another couple’s vision,” he says. Now, Peter refers couples planning a Central Park Wedding to his Youtube channel. His experience, he added, let’s him anticipate and answer questions that are specific to couples getting married in the park, “I can tell a bride or groom that there is a bench here so grandma doesn’t have to stand, but in a video I can show them the bench.” Some questions don’t come up until the wedding day itself. Peter says that he always hears guests ask the bride or groom about the name of a place, or it’s history, or the meaning of an esoteric plaque there. People who have watched the tour already know the answer!

Since half of the weddings Peter performs are for destination wedding couples visiting New York from out of state or from abroad, the videos are particularly useful for them. “If you’re from Melbourne, Edinburgh, Toronto, or Pittsburgh, you can’t just walk through the park one Sunday six months before your wedding date and pick a place,” he notes. “That’s why the tour shows each location from different vantage points, and that’s why I try to move around as much as possible. So viewers get the ‘feel’ of being there with me.”

The latest Central Park Wedding Tour videos, debuting this fall, include the six-acre formal Conservatory Garden on Fifth Avenue and the Dene Summerhouse, a charming vine-covered gazebo nestled high among the parks famous granite outcrops. Peter plans to keep adding new episodes to the Tour as his schedule allows.